Cyprus fire service crews responded to 26 separate incidents, 13 fires and 13 special rescue or support operations, between Tuesday and Wednesday morning, spokesman Andreas Kettis said on Wednesday.
One of the most striking moments came at 1:57pm on Tuesday in Engomi, Nicosia. A teenage boy was found stuck six metres high in a tree and unable to climb down. A team with a rescue vehicle and telescopic boom was sent from nearby fire stations. Firefighters safely brought the boy to the ground without injury.
“He was in good health and unhurt,” Kettis confirmed in a statement posted on X.
Just under two hours later, at 3:23pm, another emergency unfolded in Oroklini, Larnaca. A car left the road and crashed into a palm tree on Christou Afxentiou Avenue. Firefighters from Larnaca responded with a rescue vehicle. A woman trapped in the vehicle had to be freed using specialist cutting tools. She was taken by ambulance to the A&E department of Larnaca general hospital.
In a separate incident in the early hours of Wednesday, a parked car caught fire outside a private home in Polemidia. The alarm was raised at 4:56am. Three fire trucks were sent to the scene. The vehicle suffered severe damage. An investigation into the cause of the fire is now under way, in collaboration with the police. The variety of calls, from tree rescues to serious road accidents and fires, highlights the wide scope of the fire service’s work, particularly during the summer months when risk levels rise.
Kettis urged the public to stay alert and avoid unnecessary risks, especially in high temperatures and dry conditions, which increase the likelihood of fires.
